Something Dark Like the Wine
by Alithea
Summary: Post EW. Aretha Walker inherits an estate, but may be too haunted to enjoy it. F/F content.


**Title: Something Dark Like the Wine  
>Rating: PG-13<br>Poetry is mine. Characters are not mine I am just borrowing.  
>Some ff content.**

The estate was sad and lonely. The constant snowfall only made the feeling of isolation and darkness worse, and as Aretha sat by the roaring fire sipping her third glass of wine she began to wonder why she had decided to come to such a place. Part of her understood that she was chasing ghosts, and part of her held to the fantasy that it was just a simple getaway.

She could feel the wine clouding her judgment already. That warm heady feel that made the body relax and think of sleep coursed through her veins. She stood up and walked over to a window opening it just a crack to allow a sharp gust of wind into the room. It woke her for a moment, but did little else.

She shut the window and called the dogs by the fire to follow her up to the bedroom. She would sleep off the wine and start the next day fresh and unfettered. At least she hoped she would

_Memories are the specters that haunt our lives_  
><em>She said she was a Lady, and he was an errant knight<em>  
><em>And all that love gets lost in the blood of battle<em>  
><em>All that hope gets drowned by screams<em>  
><em>What little is left is but a dream<em>  
><em>And what can I do with so little<em>

She remembered, almost like it was a dream, that Roche had acknowledged how she felt. It was brief and flickering. They had gone off together, but it hadn't lasted because Roche found new purpose in the Preventers, and also love.

Aretha had joined the Preventers as well. She followed Roche so she could continue to help him, but she ended up assigned elsewhere, and in her new role she found how forgettable a boy Roche had been.

When Roche was killed on a secret mission it ate at her insides. She hardly knew what do, and found herself suddenly caught from complete oblivion by her commanding officer.

She took in a deep breath as she dressed herself for the cold. She was determined to take her inheritance in stride. She would tour the grounds and make a decision. She wasn't sure she wanted the estate. She wasn't sure she wanted anything at all anymore.

_If I crawl and beg in these shadows_  
><em>If I bleed on the snow and lose all I am<em>  
><em>If I can take the pain of a heartache that goes on forever<em>  
><em>Will I forget <em>  
><em>Will I remember<em>  
><em>All that I am seems tied to these fairytales<em>  
><em>I'm can't be sure what role I'm meant to play<em>  
><em>Am I the princess<em>  
><em>Am I the damsel<em>  
><em>Am I the witch<em>  
><em>Am I the queen<em>  
><em>If I howl like the wolves<em>  
><em>If I scream to the night<em>  
><em>If I rip out my heart<em>  
><em>Will they devour me<em>  
><em>Will it release me<em>  
><em>Will it revive me<em>  
><em>I can't ever know<em>  
><em>I can't ever know until I try<em>

The one servant still employed at the estate seemed to question her idea of taking a short hike around the estate. He muttered about curses, and things that should have been forgotten. She waved him off and made her decision clear.

She moved through the thick snow and made it a few miles out from the house before she realized it was a bad idea to be out. She caught her breath near a tree whose roots were growing wild and poking above the ground. Looking out at the forest she wondered how anyone could grow up there and not think themselves a character in a fairytale.

The air was colder than she had imagined. She thought it was almost like chill of space, but somehow it was worse. It cut in a way the vacuum of space could not.

Aretha walked back towards the house and tried to imagine what the Lady had been thinking to leave her such a place. And those thoughts made her think of other things. Things she wanted to forget.

_Your eyes were dark_  
><em>Pools of black<em>  
><em>And your kisses were worse<em>  
><em>Split between warmth and the chill of murderous desire<em>  
><em>I should have hated you<em>  
><em>But I let you take me<em>  
><em>I let you play your games<em>  
><em>And I was your lovely captive<em>  
><em>I was that thing you couldn't give up<em>

Aretha swirled the red wine around in her glass. It was a deep red that echoed the color of blood that she was all too familiar with. She had been at Lady Une's side when the sniper bullet took her down. She had cradled the Lady's body in her arms as the blood pooled around her, on her.

She drank the wine and shut her eyes.

Lady Une had left her an entire estate in what remained of the Germanies. It had belonged to the Lady's family, and came with the addition of a title that she didn't want.

Aretha remembered the sting she felt at seeing the other two women at the reading of the will. Each received a small estate, and each woman was absolutely flabbergasted at such a gift. Preventer Noin looked the worst, and it made Aretha wonder about her relationship with Lady Une. It made her wonder a lot of things.

She turned her head as a servant entered the room.

She had long since decided to keep the estate. The staff she found were capable and cheap. The young woman before her was probably about her age, and reminded her of someone she used to work with.

"What's your name?" She asked softly.

The servant bowed her head and said, "Midii...Midii Une."

Aretha arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not any relation. I just...Well, my family has served at the estate for a long time. They took the surname of their masters."

Aretha nodded. She took another sip from her glass. Then she said, "What made you come back here?"

"What?" The young woman looked stunned.

"You've obviously been away. What made you come back?"

"Just..." She looked at the floor. "Just the chance to work."

Aretha downed the rest of her wine and stood up. She approached the girl and took her hands. She looked at them and smirked.

"You've seen some action. What side were you on?"

Middii's expression turned dark and she replied, "Whatever side paid the most?"

"No loyalties?"

"No."

"No love for anything."

"No."

Aretha huffed out a laugh. "Perfect."

"What?"

Aretha grinned darkly. "I have a proposition for you."

_You aren't love_  
><em>You aren't even lust<em>  
><em>You are a vessel for me to bury my rage in<em>  
><em>My hate<em>  
><em>My vial contempt<em>  
><em>And if you didn't enjoy it<em>  
><em>If you didn't so readily spring to my side<em>  
><em>I would have left you long ago<em>  
><em>But you need me<em>  
><em>Like I need you<em>  
><em>For the moment<em>  
><em>For the time<em>  
><em>And I could almost love you<em>  
><em>Almost...<em>  
><em>But I let my heart turn to dust long ago<em>  
><em>Yes, long ago<em>

End.


End file.
